Irish director Lee 'handpicked' to make new Evil Dead sequel
An Irish director is to take over the €155m Evil Dead horror movie franchise.
Lee Cronin has been signed up to write and direct the next instalment of the hugely successful Hollywood series.
The Dubliner was specially selected because of the success of his scary Irish flick The Hole In The Ground, starring Seana Kerslake, last year.
Bruce Campbell, the star of Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987) and The Army of Darkness (1992), broke the news to Empire magazine.
Handpicked
The actor, who played main character Ash in the first three films and also had a brief appearance in the last, Evil Dead (2013), said he would act only as a producer in the latest edition along with series creator Sam Raimi.
"We're just getting off the phone with Lee Cronin, who is writing and directing the next Evil Dead," he told Empire.
"It's called Evil Dead Now. Sam handpicked Lee - he did a cool movie called The Hole In The Ground. We're going to get that sucker out as soon as practical."
The latest film, like the last, will not feature Ash, who is said to have hung up his chainsaw and shotgun for the last time.
Instead, like the last movie starring Jane Levy, it will have a female lead.
"From this point forward, they kind of have to stand on their own. Which is fine, and liberating," said Campbell.
"You could have different heroes, different heroines in this case. This one is gonna be a little more dynamic.
"We just want to keep the series current.
"The mantra, really, is that our heroes and heroines are just regular people. That's what we're going to continue."
The Hole In The Ground was one of the most successful Irish horror films ever made and won rave reviews.
It also introduced Can't Cope, Won't Cope actress Kerslake to an international audience.
Award
Before directing the feature, Cronin wrote and directed the multi-award-winning short Ghost Train, which won the Melies d'Argent Award for Best Fantastic Short Film in 2015.
The Evil Dead movies, which revolve around an ancient text that brings death and destruction to innocent victims, have pulled in nearly $155m (€137m) at the box office.
The franchise was later turned into a TV series, video games, comics and even a musical.
No release date has been set for the new film.